Tel Aviv fences with residents over fence

Tel Aviv municipal workers have begun building a fence around the Tel Kabir pumping station in the south of the city.

By MIRIAM BULWAR DAVID-HAY (TRANSLATED)
Tel Aviv municipal workers have begun building a fence around the Tel Kabir pumping station in the south of the city, but the municipality has neglected to seek and obtain a building permit for the work, reports Yediot Tel Aviv. And the newspaper said the city's omission means that residents have been denied the chance to object to the project before the Local Planning and Construction Committee. According to the report, residents of the area were surprised to discover bulldozers and tractors digging up the ground around the station, but when they asked city officials where the building permit was and why the plans had not been advertised in advance as is customary, they hit a brick wall. "If a regular citizen tried to do such a thing [build without a permit], they would be taken to court," one angry resident said, adding that the fence extended out into a roadway, blocking cars from entering the area, and appeared to be an attempt by the city to grab some extra land for itself. A municipal spokesman initially said there was no need for a building permit for fences, but later said that after clarification of the issue, the city's legal adviser had instructed that work be stopped. The spokesman said an official team would inspect the work, and the legal adviser would then decide whether the fence should be pulled down and rebuilt, or whether it could remain in place and be continued, but "in any case, a building permit will be issued as required by law."